This invention relates generally to an improved heating unit, and more particularly, to an improved heating unit which achieves maximum heat recovery from combustible waste materials by achieving nearly complete fuel combustion.
The disposal of combustible waste materials, such as paper, sawdust, wood pallets and motor vehicle tires, by commercial and industrial establishments is usually accomplished by arranging for a refuse collection hauler to remove and transport such waste materials to a landfill dump site. However, the cost of such waste removal by refuse collection haulers is becoming increasingly expensive due in part to rising fuel and labor costs. Also, the availability of suitable landfill dump sites is becoming scarce due to more stringent environmental regulations. Rather than incur the expense of having combustible waste materials hauled to a suitable landfill dump site, most commercial and industrial establishments would prefer to burn such combustible waste materials on site and recover the usable heat. Unfortunately, most present day incinerators are at best only suitable to burn readily combustible waste materials such as paper and dried wood.
Just as many commercial and industrial establishments would prefer to burn combustible waste materials on site and recover the usable heat, thereby reducing fuel costs, many farmers would also prefer to burn combustible bio-mass waste products such as corncobs, walnut husks and the like, and recover the usable heat. Not only would burning of such bio-mass products eliminate the difficulties associated with their disposal, but also the burning of such waste bio-mass products and recovery of the usable heat would reduce the cost of fossil fuel used in conventional crop dryers. In the past, attempts to develop a suitable heating unit for burning bio-mass products such as corncobs to enable recovery of the heat for drying crops has not proven commercially feasible. Thus, farmers have had to rely on conventional, fossil fuel fired dryers for drying crops.
By my invention I advantageously provide a novel heating device which efficiently recovers usable heat from combustible waste materials by achieving almost complete fuel combustion, thereby reducing particulate emissions.